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Williamsom County Homeowner will get little if any help from the Builder's Protection Agency TRCC
Wednesday, 24 September 2008

Builder Protection Agency Gets Legislative Protection
Yesterday the Texas Residential Construction Commission (TRCC) had it’s day in the Sunset, Commission that is.  It’s key to remember no matter what homebuilders and TRCC commissioner say, the TRCC was created to keep homebuilders from being sued for shoddy workmanship by homebuyers who received that shoddily built home.  That is why the consumers are not happy with the TRCC, and why it has received the nickname of “the builder protection agency”.  (Read this post, Builder Protection Agency “Hits Home” In Williamson County, for EOW’s earlier reporting).

Builder Protection Agency Gets Legislative Protection

Posted in Around The State, Commentary, Money In Politics at 11:36 am by wcnews

Yesterday the Texas Residential Construction Commission (TRCC) had it’s day in the Sunset, Commission that is.  It’s key to remember no matter what homebuilders and TRCC commissioner say, the TRCC was created to keep homebuilders from being sued for shoddy workmanship by homebuyers who received that shoddily built home.  That is why the consumers are not happy with the TRCC, and why it has received the nickname of “the builder protection agency”.  (Read this post, Builder Protection Agency “Hits Home” In Williamson County, for EOW’s earlier reporting).

It should be noted that Democrat Alan Ritter sponsored the legislation to create the TRCC, and has received considerable sums of money from Bob “Swift Boat” Perry and Texans for Lawsuit Reform (TLR) - both of which were instrumental in creating the TRCC - as have the Democrats and Republicans on the Sunset Commission.  Which means, as things currently stand, without bringing accountability back to our state government, it’s unlikely that this agency will change much next session.

The DMN summed it up the ineptitude and the problems with the TRCC pretty good:

The residential commission was created five years ago, backed chiefly by homebuilders. The law requires that homebuilders register with the state, but there are no standards for application other than having a physical address and no criminal record.

Before they can file suit against bad builders, consumers must file a complaint with the Residential Construction Commission, which will order an inspection and try to bring a resolution. The process usually lasts five months but has taken up to 20 in some cases.

In the end, under current state law, a homebuilder cannot be forced to make any repairs, and the homeowner cannot take the builder to court until the resolution process is completed.

“The current structure and current approach don’t work,” said Sunset Commission director Joey Longley. “It wouldn’t matter if [the agency] went away.”

Pretty much any homebuilder can register, it’s a long process that favors homebuilders, and the TRCC cannot enforce it’s resolution on the hombuilder. How exactly does that benefit the consumer? From yesterday’s hearing, it seems the testimony of those in favor of keeping the TRCC, would lead us to believe that the TRCC was the consumers best friend and was being unfairly attacked. From the TO Blog, TRCC: It’s the Uneducated Consumers’ Fault:

TRCC Commissioner John Krugh, general counsel and VP for Bob Perry Homes, who helped craft the legislation that created TRCC, said he felt the agency was “fair and unbiased” toward consumers.He said there were a number of misconceptions about the agency such as the idea that TRCC blocks or delays court access. (Arbitration can take up to two years with TRCC before homeowners can pursue their cases in court). “We are light regulation and heavy reconciliation,” he told the Sunset panel.

Commissioner Lewis Brown said he “totally disagreed” with the Sunset staff’s recommendation that the agency be scrapped. He called TRCC the voice of the consumer. “If you take away their voice, then shame on you,” he admonished the legislators.

Rep. Dan Flynn, a member of the Sunset Commission that will help decide if the agency survives, wondered why, if TRCC was fair and unbiased, was there such a disconnect between consumers and the agency?

Krugh remained silent on the issue. The executive director of the agency chimed in. He said consumers were very upset, because they already felt abused and cheated by the builder. Once they start working with TRCC, consumers felt the process was taking too long so they started to believe the agency was on the builder’s side. He also blamed the news media for portraying the agency on the side of home builders.

Cat got his tongue it would seem. It’s key also to remember that the Sunset report wasn’t the first report that showed how worthless an agency the TRCC is. Former Comptroller Carol Strayhorn said pretty much the same thing in 2006, calling it a “builder protection agency“. But the true proof of it’s worthlessness is that consumers are overwhelmingly ill-treated and routinely ill-served by the TRCC.

The “don’t blame us” argument from the agency didn’t sit well with consumers.

Carol Hemphill, a home buyer testified that she had 215 defects in her new home. Hemphill said she contacted TRCC who acknowledged the defects but said they were powerless to do anything about it. Hemphill said no attorney would take her case because construction defect cases were too expensive and took too long to pursue.

Hemphill said a lawyer had told her that “too many roadblocks had been put up by the Legislature to successfully pursue a case for a consumer.” She said she would probably lose her home because there was no way to sell it. “It would cost $25,000 to $50,000 to see it through arbitration,” she said.

And with the money being spread around to current legislators and Sunset Commissioners it’s unlikely, if the legislature keeps it’s current leadership, anything worthwhile will be done in the upcoming legislative session.

It’s difficult to believe in the agency’s independence when wealthy home builder Bob Perry, the state’s largest campaign donor, donated $17,000 to Ritter’s campaign in 2006, the author of TRCC legislation. And when Perry’s VP and general counsel serves as an agency commissioner.

The Sunset Commission will make a recommendation in December on whether the agency should be abolished.

The Sunset report is only a recommendation to the legislature, and the legislature has to act for this agency to be abolished or changed to where it actually becomes something that would benefit consumers.  In that case it’s probably best to abolish it, as the Sunset Commission recommends, and let consumers get redress from the courts as they did befroe the TRCC was created.

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